GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3: Born of Myth and Magic Is Copyright © 2016 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated

Written by PETER V. DELL’ORTO Edited by NIKOLA VRTIS Illustrated by ALEX FERNANDEZ, DENIS LOUBET, and JOHN ZELEZNIK

Additional Material by SEAN PUNCH

GURPS System Design z STEVE JACKSON Chief Executive Officerz PHILIP REED GURPS Line Editor z SEAN PUNCH Chief Operating Officer z SAMUEL MITSCHKE Assistant GURPS Line Editor z JASON “PK” LEVINE Executive Editor z MIRANDA HORNER GURPS Project Manager z STEVEN MARSH Marketing Director z RHEA FRIESEN Production Artist and Indexer z NIKOLA VRTIS Director of Sales z ROSS JEPSON GURPS FAQ Maintainer z Page Design z PHIL REED and JUSTIN DE WITT VICKY “MOLOKH” KOLENKO Art Direction and Prepress Checker z NIKKI VRTIS

GURPS, Pyramid, Warehouse 23, the all-seeing pyramid, Dungeon Fantasy Monsters, Born of Myth and Magic, and the names of all products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license. GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3: Born of Myth and Magic is copyright © 2016 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this material via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. STEVE JACKSON GAMES Stock #37-0338 Version 1.1 – June 2016 ® Contents

Introduction ...... 3 Giant .ant ...... 10 Publication History ...... 3 Myrmecoleon and Variant Ants ...... 10 About the Author ...... 3 Ant Tactics ...... 10 About GURPS ...... 3 Harpy ...... 11 Sirens ...... 11 Harpy Tactics ...... 11 Lava .lizard ...... 12 Lava Lizard Tactics ...... 12 If any one unwarily Fighting Molten Rock ...... 12 Call of the Lizard ...... 12 draws in too close and Living .pit ...... 13 Pit Fighting ...... 13 hears the singing of Falling into Monsters ...... 13 Manticore ...... 14 the Sirens, his wife Manticore Tactics ...... 14 Manticore Variants ...... 14 and children will never Medusa ...... 15 Wait till My Sisters Get Here ...... 15 welcome him home again Fighting with Eyes Averted ...... 15 Octopus .Blossom ...... 16 . . . There is a great heap Killer Plant Variants ...... 16 “Octo” Means “Grapple” ...... 16 of dead men’s bones lying Phase .serpent ...... 17 Phase Critters ...... 17 all around, with the flesh Phase Abilities ...... 17 Phase Serpent Tactics ...... 17 still rotting off them. Phoenix ...... 18 Other Elements ...... 18 – Homer, The Odyssey Killing the Immortal ...... 18 Rock .troll ...... 19 Rock Troll Tactics ...... 19 Malicious Rocks ...... 19 1 . The Monsters ...... 4 Rot .Worm ...... 20 Reading Monster Stats ...... 4 Not Your Garden Variety ...... 20 Worm Tactics ...... 20 Basilisk ...... 5 Worm Wrangling ...... 20 Basilisk Variants ...... 5 Death by Weasel ...... 5 Shadow .Warrior ...... 21 Two-Dimensional Foes ...... 21 Cockatrice ...... 6 Other Shadows? ...... 21 Hands Off! ...... 6 Cockfighting ...... 6 2 . Monster Traits ...... 22 Doppelganger ...... 7 New .Monster .traits ...... 22 Doppelganger Detection ...... 7 New Enhancement ...... 22 The Problem with Replacing PCs ...... 8 New Meta-Traits ...... 22 Dryad ...... 9 More .Monster .prefixes ...... 23 Friend or Foe? ...... 9 Dryad Tactics ...... 9 Index ...... 24

Reviewers: Douglas H. Cole, S.A. Fisher, Christopher R. Rice, and Matt Riggsby Special Thanks: Raggi’s Roughnecks (Greg Blair, Andy Dokachev, Mike Dokachev, Mike Hornbostel, andi jones, Vic LaPira, John Milkewicz, Sean Nealy, and Thomas Pluck) and Chris’s Headhunters (Christian Gelacio, Curtis Johnston, Troy Loy, Thomas Phelps, and Laurie Salyers)

Contents 2 Introduction These monsters might prove useful to GMs who are in a Fantastic at dungeonfantastic.blogspot.com, where many hurry or who need inspiration for their own critters. of these critters have made guest appearances in his cam- – GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: Dungeons paign. Outside of gaming, his hobbies include fitness, study- ing Japanese, painting monster miniatures, and martial arts The more monsters the GM has to draw on, the more vari- (he has fought amateur MMA in the SHOOTO organization ety adventures can have. This volume draws on two points of in Japan and submission grappling in the United States, and origin for threats. he holds a shodan rank in kendo). Some beasts with mythical origins are especially suited to GURPS Dungeon Fantasy, but have been overlooked in previous works. There are strange animals spoken of by ancient historians and tale-tellers, mythical creatures found in European bestiaries, and horrors lurking in old About GURPS stories. The Dungeon Fantasy versions are lethal, nasty, Steve Jackson Games is committed to full support of and often twisted from their original myths. GURPS players. Our address is SJ Games, P.O. Box 18957, Other menaces spawn from magical mistakes. The Austin, TX 78760. Please include a self-addressed, stamped wrong “thing” is summoned. Some magical research envelope (SASE) any time you write us! We can also be goes awry. A foolhardy experiment goes exactly right. Or reached by e-mail: [email protected]. Resources include: magic has lingering, monstrous consequences beyond the expectations of the caster. Others just seem to fit New supplements and adventures. GURPS continues to dungeons oh-too-well, as if designed specifically for that grow – see what’s new at gurps.sjgames.com. purpose by a vengeful being. Warehouse 23. Our online store offers GURPS adven- This work pulls monsters of both origins together, tures, play aids, and support in PDF form . . . digital copies and turns them into a bestiary for your campaign. of our books, plus exclusive material available only on Ware- house 23! Just head over to warehouse23.com. Pyramid (pyramid.sjgames.com). Our monthly PDF Publication History magazine includes new rules and articles for GURPS, sys- This is the first edition of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy temless locations, adventures, and much more. Look for Monsters 3: Born of Myth and Magic. Monsters with each themed issue from Warehouse 23! similar names have appeared in other GURPS books, but Internet. Visit us on the World Wide Web at these versions are all designed specifically for Dungeon sjgames.com for errata, updates, Q&A, and much more. To Fantasy. All creature stats are new to this work. discuss GURPS with our staff and your fellow gamers, visit our forums at forums.sjgames.com. The GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 3: Born of Myth and Magic web page is About the Author gurps.sjgames.com/dungeonfantasymonsters3. Bibliographies. Many of our books have extensive bibliog- Peter V. Dell’Orto was raised in New Jersey. He raphies, and we’re putting them online – with links to let you started roleplaying in 1981, with Dungeons & Dragons, buy the resources that interest you! Go to each book’s web and has played GURPS since Man to Man. He has page and look for the “Bibliography” link. been active as a GURPS playtester, editor, and contrib- Errata. Everyone makes mistakes, including us – but we uting author since 1996. Peter is the author of numer- do our best to fix our errors. Up-to-date errata pages for all ous GURPS articles for Pyramid magazine; author GURPS releases, including this book, are available on our of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 12: Ninja; GURPS website – see above. Dungeon Fantasy Denizens: Barbarians; and co-author of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 15: Henchmen, Rules and statistics in this book are specifically for the GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1, GURPS Low- GURPS Basic Set, Fourth Edition. Page references that Tech, GURPS Low-Tech Companion 2: Weapons and begin with B refer to that book, not this one. Warriors, GURPS Martial Arts, and GURPS Martial Arts: Gladiators. He also writes the blog Dungeon

One look from the head of Medusa can turn all creatures into stone. No matter how huge and powerful. – Stygian Witch, in Clash of the Titans (1981)

Introduction 3 Chapter One The Monsters

Like the creatures in previous volumes in this series, these Treasure is similarly up to the GM. Generally the scariest monsters are presented here without comment as to how Things have the largest treasure hoards – often extorted from appropriate they might be for a given scenario. A fair GM weaker monsters or looted from previous victims. A boss mon- shouldn’t place undefeatable foes in a situation where the ster that lives far off the beaten path or that wanders about adventurers must fight them. But it is fair to include threats might have little loot, while clever fodder might have a lot well beyond the delvers’ combat capabilities if the protagonists of goodies by dint of avoiding stronger competition. Weak have other ways to deal with them – and many of the creatures but rich monsters must have some reason that they still hold within can be bribed, negotiated with, evaded, or tricked. Wise onto their wealth in the face of stronger monsters and roving adventurers never assume combat is the only answer! delvers – traps, curses, numbers, rough terrain (see GURPS Some entries come with suggested numbers – but those Dungeon Fantasy 16: Wilderness Adventures), nearby slime are only suggestions. The GM can deploy single rot worms or hordes (see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky Goo), scores of doppelgangers or a throng of medusas. The more or stronger but dumber allies . . . preferably several means of monsters the more lethal the threat. (In fact, only a horde will assistance at once. challenge some heroes!) Furthermore, a mix of beings – each The GM ultimately picks which creatures to feature, how covering the weaknesses of the others or playing on each oth- many appear, and what treasure they guard. These are just er’s strengths – is always a bigger threat than an encounter the stats! with a single type of foe.

Reading Monster Stats The creatures in Born of Myth and Magic use the Attacks: These are listed by attack name. The number stats format on p. 21 of GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 2: in parentheses is effective skill for strikes or grapples. Dungeons. However, their character-point values aren’t For afflictions, curses, venoms, etc., that number is the shown. That’s because they aren’t intended as Allies or resistance roll, which might be a simple attribute roll or Alternate Forms, and sometimes have abilities that are a Quick Contest against the victim’s score. Damage scores challenging to replicate with advantages (although the are final, and already consider bonuses for the Brawling GM can do that, if he prefers to spend time crunching skill, the Claws or Striker advantage, etc. numbers instead of running adventures). Traits: Advantages or disadvantages important in dungeon fantasy. For the sake of brevity, DR and attacks aren’t ST, DX, IQ, HT, HP, Will, Per, FP, Speed, and Move: listed here a second time, and “color” traits don’t appear. The basic attributes and secondary characteristics mean If it matters that a monster speaks Elvish or suffers from exactly what they do for heroes and every other creature Jealousy, the GM can add this. in GURPS. Remember that creatures with ST 0 aren’t tan- Skills: Any skills possessed by all monsters of this gible and can’t pick up objects, grab or be grabbed, etc., type. Exceptional specimens may have different skill lists. while those with IQ 0 react reflexively and don’t use tac- Those with IQ 6+ are sapient and capable of learning just tics – but are immune to Fright Checks, Influence rolls, about any skill! and so on because they are mindless! Class: Animal (Giant if huge, Dire if mutant; all are SM: This affects all rolls to hit the creature. Multiply affected by Animal Handling and Animal spells), Con- the energy cost to cast Regular spells on it by (1 + SM). The struct (entirely incorruptible), Demon (evil, and subject stats already reflect other effects, such as increased Reach. to Banish spell), Divine Servitor (treat as demons, but not Dodge and Parry: These defenses are prefigured from necessarily evil), Elder Thing (insane, and not vulnerable DX, Basic Speed, and combat skills. They already include to Banish), Elemental (affected by Banish and Control Ele- bonuses for Combat Reflexes and Enhanced Defenses – mental), Faerie, Hybrid (as Animal, but requires a special don’t add these again. subset of Animal spells), Mundane (has vital areas), Plant DR: This is total DR from both natural and artificial (affected by Plant spells), Slime (diffuse, and immune to sources. If a creature isn’t noted as wearing armor, it isn’t. most Animal and Plant spells), or Undead (can be turned The GM is free to add more DR if, say, an evil wizard has with True Faith). cast Armor spells on all of his guardian monsters, or clad Notes: Anything else of importance – including excep- them in plate barding. tions to its listed stats or these guidelines.

The Monsters 4 Basilisk Skills: Brawling-14. Class: Dire Animal. Notes: Animal spells work normally. Adventurers with mirrors or mirrored shields can attempt to reflect the gaze with a block at ‑2. Failure means the victim is hit as usual. Success lets the defender try to direct the gaze onto any target within 10 yards – including the basilisk itself! – with an immedi- ate DX‑4 or Innate Attack (Beam) roll at standard ranged combat penalties. Intact basilisk eyes (they have two) are worth $1d¥50 apiece; unhatched eggs These eight-legged reptiles are occasionally mistaken are worth $500 each. Some basilisks have Enhanced Tracking, for large mundane lizards or small slorn (GURPS Dungeon and can target two different targets at a time with their gaze attack. Fantasy Monsters 1, p. 26) . . . but not for long. Basilisks proj- A rare few have DR 6 (Reflection; Own gaze reflected only). ect deadly rays from their eyes. Ornery and destructive, they’ll sometimes turn their gaze on plants if they lack prey to kill and eat. The area around a basilisk nest – usually a cave or sunken hole in the ground – is barren and lifeless. Basilisk are fearless and see everything as potential food. Basilisk Variants They have no natural predators and few unnatural ones. Not all basilisks are the same! Variants typically dif- They’re sometimes encountered in packs, especially during fer in appearance. Some have rooster-like heads; others, mating season (when they may be found with 1d eggs). They small human faces on elongated lizard skulls; and still have complete control over their own death gaze, and they others vary only in skin color. Not all changes are cos- won’t use it to attack each other. Young basilisks are born metic – pick from any of these gaze attacks. with full adult death-gaze ability. Coma Gaze (20 vs. HT): Victim falls into a coma ST: 13 HP: 13 Speed: 6.00 (p. B429). Range 20. DX: 12 Will: 11 Move: 7 Paralyzing Gaze (20 vs. HT): Victim is paralyzed IQ: 2 Per: 11 (p. B429) for a number of minutes equal to his margin HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: +1 of loss. Range 20. Stone Gaze (20 vs. HT): A victim who fails to resist is Dodge: 10 Parry: N/A DR: 3 petrified, per Flesh to Stone (Magic, p. 51). Range 20. Bite (14): 1d cutting. Reach C. Death Gaze: Automatically hits any one target the basi- eath by easel lisk looks at. When in doubt as to whether the basilisk D W can see a victim, roll vs. Per 11, applying modifiers from This is a bog-standard fantasy gaming basilisk – the the Size and Speed/Range Table (p. B550) plus another usual way to kill it is with physical damage. However, ‑6 for Bad Sight at distances greater than one yard, but the basilisks of European myth had a very specific vul- adding +10 for someone in plain sight (which includes nerability: they were slain by contact with (or the scent anyone in combat with the basilisk!). Dark Vision and of, or close proximity to) fresh weasel urine. This usually See Invisible mean neither darkness nor invisibility requires a well-hydrated weasel, which often dies in the penalizes this roll. No defenses are possible except for process. Add Weakness (Weasel urine within 5 yards; Reflect Gaze GURPS( Magic, p. 168) and, under limited 1d/second). If sprinkled with the urine, damage continues circumstances, block – see below. Even worse, any liv- until the basilisk dies or immerses itself in water. ing thing hit must roll vs. HT. Success means 1d HP of Such limitations can be added to other beasts, gener- injury. Failure inflicts 1d HP of injury or HP enough to ally as Weakness (1d to 3d per second), Unkillable lim- reach the next threshold for death: ‑HP, ‑2¥HP, and so ited with Achilles’ Heel (fatal blow must be delivered with on – whichever is higher. A mortal victim who goes to something made of or dipped in a specific substance), ‑5¥HP just dies! These effects ignore DR and Injury Tol- or Vulnerability (¥2 injury from something made of or erance (all forms), and affect even insubstantial targets. dipped in a specific substance). The fatal flaw is most Range 20 yards. interesting if acquiring and using the substance is a little tricky; e.g., needing a weasel, or killing a vampire with a Traits: Combat Reflexes; Bad Sight (Nearsighted); Bad Tem- stake instead of a sword. Common solutions – such as axe per (9); Clinging; Cold-Blooded (50°); Compulsive Killing blows or magic – make for a less interesting twist. (9); Dark Vision; Extra Legs (Eight Legs); Nictitating Membrane 3; See Invisible; Unfazeable; Wild Animal.

The Monsters 5 Cockatrice This hideous bird-like creature has a crested rooster-like head, yellowish body, membranous bat-like wings, and a scaly lizard-like tail. The cockatrice is poisonous – so much so that anything within 16 yards that looks at the cockatrice is struck by its toxic attack every second automatically. It’s not necessary to stare one in the eye (or even been noticed by the cockatrice) for this; just seeing the cockatrice is enough. See Cockfighting, below, for more details. Its toxic attack directly affects the animating forces of living beings. Even the slightest vulnerability to poison means the attack succeeds automatically. However, those with sufficient Chi Talent (or who are immune to poison) can ignore its effects. Cockatrices are immune to their poison, and can’t be killed by showing them a reflection, though looking into a reflection is a safe way to view one. They are extremely easy to provoke into attack and pursuit. They are slow on the ground, but can fly short distances before needing to rest. Their short beaks can occasionally inflict damage, but generally they can only kill with their poisonous appearance.

Hands Off! Some legends say the cockatrice’s touch is lethal, too. This variant isn’t safe for anyone, except for extremely talented blind martial artists who don’t mind being pecked. Add: Toxic Touch (12): Irresistible 2d toxic attack to anything the cockatrice touches, or that touches the cockatrice. Cosmic, no resistance, ignores all DR – ST: 5 HP: 5 Speed: 6.00 even contact through a weapon is enough, as long DX: 12 Will: 10 Move: 7 (Air)/4 (Ground) as the weapon is being held. Chi Talent subtracts 1 IQ: 3 Per: 10 point per die from damage. Chi Talent 6 renders the HT:12 FP: 12 SM: ‑1 martial artist immune! Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 1 Looks that Kill: Irresistible 2d toxic attack to anything within Cockfighting 16 yards that looks directly at the cockatrice; mirrors and The best way to fight a cockatrice is at range. Out- reflections don’t count. Ignores DR, and affects insubstan- side of its 16-yard radius of death, it can be freely tial targets. Damage is ‑1 point per die (minimum 0) for viewed and fairly easily killed with ranged weapons. each level of Chi Talent the victim has. Martial artists with enough Chi Talent are nearly Tiny Beak (12): 1d-5 crushing. Reach C. immune to its attacks, and can usually punch, kick, or Traits: Bad Temper (6); Flight (Air Move 7; Maximum Dura- choke the cockatrice to death. tion, 3 seconds; Winged); No Fine Manipulators; Wild But cockatrices can be extremely deadly up close, Animal. or if encountered by surprise – 2d per second means Class: Dire Animal. an average of 7 damage per second, per cockatrice, to Notes: Best fought without looking at it – see Fighting with everyone within 16 yards who can see them. Eyes Averted (p. 15). Sometimes kept as pets by blind mon- Someone merely has to be looking in the cock- sters! Poisonous if eaten – cockatrice flesh inflicts 3d+3 atrice’s general direction (in tactical combat, this toxic damage if put in the mouth; this cycles every minute means having it in his front arc) to suffer damage. if consumed until it’s vomited out (requires something Even a quick glance to establish where the cockatrice stuck down the throat and a successful HT roll, but costs 1 is will cause harm – be ruthless about this. Having FP per attempt), or the eater dies. Young cockatrices (and more than one in the area means taking damage from the rare chibitrice) are small, but no less deadly, albeit at a each one. Luckily, they rarely come in large numbers. shorter range (ST 2, HP 2, SM ‑3, toxic attack is out to eight yards; all other stats unchanged).

The Monsters 6 Doppelganger The dreaded doppelgangers are a supernatural race of humanoid shapeshifters. Their “natural” form is small and skinny, blank-eyed and mostly devoid of features, oppelganger with smooth gray skin. It’s extremely rare to see their true D appearance, as they generally remain in another shape until Detection slain. They don’t last long after that, either, first becoming a strange goo (perhaps even a slime; Monsters 2, pp. 15-16) Determining who, or what, is a doppelganger isn’t easy. and then evaporating in a few minutes. Doppelgangers are vulnerable to silver, but even non- In their natural form, doppelgangers aren’t a big threat – doppelgangers take poorly to being cut with a silver blade they’re weak and have no natural attacks. But they can shift to see if they take extra damage. Or being asked to hold into almost any humanoid shape, and use its powers to belladonna for a minute or two, for that matter. attack! See Shifter (p. 8). Magical approaches work pretty well – Sense Foes, for Doppelgangers love to fool people. They delight in infil- example, if it can overcome their steep magic resistance. trating groups, replacing members, and causing chaos. Truthsayer or Compel Truth and clever questioning would They are patient, too – they’re extremely long lived, and are work as well, as would a bard’s Empathy. Sense Life willing to spend time in a form if they think it will lead to excluding non-doppelgangers does not work, though. some larger, even grander scheme. It’s said that some dop- In addition, their Magic Resistance won’t show up pelgangers have replaced kings, queens, and emperors and when their aura is viewed. Spells cast on them usually will held the reins until they could bring the entire kingdom fail mysteriously, although it will be clear to the caster that down. If they have a weak point, it is that they can be a little there was an inexplicable ‑10 to cast. Doppelgangers will too confident in their ability to fool people. take steps to ensure they aren’t subject to repeated cast- Doppelgangers are found singly, or in small groups, and ings. They can turn off their Magic Resistance when it’s occasionally are leaders of groups of humanoid creatures inconvenient as well. They won’t resist benign spells, so who unwittingly serve them. They rarely work together for unless the PCs are going around casting Sense Foes on too long . . . they also like tricking each other, and mortals every NPC, they may not notice until it’s too late. are just pawns in their games with one another. ST: 12 HP: 12 Speed: 6.00 Kick (14): 1d crushing. Affects insubstantial beings; DX roll DX: 12 Will: 12 Move: 6 not to fall down on a miss! Reach C, 1. IQ: 12 Per: 12 Punch (16): 1d-1 crushing. Reach C. Affects insubstantial HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: ‑1 beings. Dodge: 10 Parry: 12 DR: 1 (Tough Skin) Traits: Ambidexterity; Callous; Combat Reflexes; Dark Vision; Flexibility; Hard to Kill 2; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Metabolic Haz- ards; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous); Immu- nity to Magical Race Determination; Magic Resistance 10 (Improved; No Signature; Switch- able); Morph (see Shifter, p. 8); Overconfidence (12); Recovery; Selfish (12); Supernatural Durability (Achilles’ Heel, Silver); Trickster (12); Vulnerability (Silver ¥3); Weakness (Belladonna; 1d/minute). Skills: Acting-12; Brawling-16; Mimicry-12; Wres- tling-16. Class: Faerie. Notes: Effective ST 14 when grappling due to Wrestling skill. Magic Resistance isn’t detectable by delvers with Magery (see Doppelganger Detection, above). Silver-coated weapons do ¥2 damage – it takes solid silver for ¥3). Some doppelgangers are especially intelligent (IQ 14+); the more intelligent ones are occasionally wizards as well (add Magery 3, and add 10-20 Communication and Empathy IQ/Hard spells at 13 or IQ/Very Hard spells at 12). Powers are faerie in origin and are unaffected by mana or sanctity level. Not evil, but have no regard for non-doppelganger lives. In a campaign with Psi powers (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 14: Psi), they also have Resistant to Psi 10.

The Monsters 7 Shifter Doppelgangers have a potent form of Morph. Shift- “Welcome to lunch, little morsel,” ing form takes a Concentrate maneuver. In addition, the manticora said, arching its segmented the doppelganger must have had physical contact with the specific individual it wishes to duplicate – touch- tail over its back. ing clothes, weapons, shields, etc. is sufficient, as long – Piers Anthony, as the object is in contact with the victim. The doppelganger must change into that specific individual A Spell for Chameleon within one minute of contact or it must touch (or be touched by) the victim again. Doppelgangers are faerie thousands of them. Each body, however, duplicates a specific beings, however, and partly exist in the ethereal realm even as individual. For example, a doppelganger can turn into a spe- they exist in this one. Because of this, they can touch victims cific medusa or Bjorn the barbarian, but not just a medusa or who are insubstantial (like ghosts!), using Ethereal Body, or a human barbarian. casting Phase to defend. Doppelgangers gain the physical attributes, secondary Once it has shifted into a form, it can turn back into that characteristics, and physical skills of their victim, if they are shape at any time. Doppelgangers will shift into powerful, superior to the doppelganger’s own. A doppelganger touch- memorized bodies when found out or if otherwise threat- ing a rock troll (p. 19) would acquire the rock troll’s ST, ened with great harm. There is no limit on the number of HT, HP, and DR, but retain its own superior Brawling and forms they can memorize; ancient doppelgangers may know Wrestling. In addition, they get any natural racial traits of their target – a doppelganger elf would have Magery 0 but not any spells, while The Problem with Replacing PCs one mimicking a medusa (p. 15) The classic use of a doppelganger is to have it pick off a straggling, scouting, would score its petrifying gaze and or sneaking PC. The doppelganger gets the victim alone, kills him, and seamlessly venomous snake hair. A doppel- takes over the victim’s position in the party. ganger mimicking a human wiz- Aside from the difficulty in engineering such a situation, it’s generally not plau- ard wouldn’t gain Magery, as that sible to secretly run a combat between a doppelganger and a delver, then hand off isn’t a basic racial trait of humans! the murderer to the player to run. Not only that, but it spells a dead or incapac- They also get any extra limbs itated PC, which isn’t terribly fun for the player. No one likes to lose a PC – even native to the duplicate’s race – a temporarily – just to show how sneaky and nasty the foe is. doppelganger coleopteran would Alternately, go for an Invasion of the Body Snatchers feel. Instead of the doppel- gain the requisite extra arms and ganger replacing a PC directly, the threat is that the friend the party knows might the skill to use them that any other secretly be an enemy – and thus, anyone can be an enemy, no matter how trusted. natural-born coleopteran would Adventurer’s Bond (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 11: Power-Ups, p. 16) will keep have. Where it is unclear if a power the closest allies from being swapped without the groups knowledge, but there is racial, the GM must decide – in are other possibilities. general, err on the side of giving Replace Henchmen. The party can’t keep track of their henchmen, hirelings, the doppelganger the power. and camp followers at all times. NPCs sent off to haul water, forage, buy equip- They can mimic any reason- ment, scout ahead, or guard the rear are especially vulnerable to replacement by ably humanoid-shaped living thing doppelgangers. It’s generally bad form to kill Allies outright, but hired help are from SM ‑3 up to SM +1. They can’t fair game. duplicate undead, golems, slimes, Be Henchmen. A poor roll (for the PCs, anyway) on the Secret Menace Table or most animals, but they can copy (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 15: Henchmen, p. 31) could result in a doppel- human-shaped plant-creatures (like ganger. They sometimes work in groups, so such a henchmen might lure other dryads, p. 9), faerie (such as sword henchmen into danger to facilitate their replacement. spirits, Monsters 1, p. 29), human- Replace Fodder. Sometimes the bad guys have been gotten at by the doppel- oid Elder Things and dark ones, or gangers already. One or more of the orcs, dinomen, or bandits the PCs run into even semi-upright animals such as might have already been swapped by a doppelganger. Such replacements will be flesh-eating apes (Dungeons, p. 23). all too eager to surrender and help the party in return for their lives . . . The form trumps the class of the Replace Friends. The challenge isn’t that fellow PCs might be secret enemies, creature, with the exception of con- but that otherwise reliable NPC friends back in town are. Such a swap can turn structs and undead. a routine visit to town, base camp, or the trading oasis into Invasion of the Body Doppelgangers cannot shift Snatchers. forms while in contact with silver – It’s Me! It’s Me! A scouting or straggling hero can still be swapped – a dop- they can stay in their current form pelganger can duplicate him, forcing his allies to decide on the fly which is the (even if it’s not their own real form) original and which is the doppelganger. The GM should enforce the fog of war in but cannot change into another. combat, here – be wary of players dragging their feet and plotting every second of Barbed silver-tipped arrows laced combat to ensure they always keep track of who is who. with belladonna are an old adventurer’s trick for dealing with doppelgangers . . .

The Monsters 8 Dryad Dryads are beautiful nature spirits – half plant, half faerie. They appear as nude, slender human females, except for their green skin and their green riend or oe hair that sprouts flowers. Their skin feels soft, but F F ? it’s as tough as bark. They dwell in groves, which Dryads aren’t hostile per se, but their way of being friendly isn’t serve as their home and source of life. Dryads are conducive to further adventuring. The “easy” solution is to kill always encountered singly, although occasionally them, but only evil or really ruthless delvers would fall back on one has an animal pet or a companion. that option. Disadvantages such as Sense of Duty (Wild Nature) or They are fascinated by mortal males, and espe- (Nature), or unwillingness to slaughter beings that aren’t directly cially by bards. A dryad will attempt to charm the attacking, can hold back adventurers. Not only that, dryads tend most attractive (or, lacking an attractive male, the to have more powerful friends such as killer giant trees, octopus most outdoorsy looking) into staying with her as blossoms (p. 16), and NPC elves and druids who don’t like their a champion. They respect druids, however, and friends butchered. won’t attempt this on them. If dealt with peacefully – talked out of charming a guardian, or bribed or aided in some way – dryads can be quite friendly. They ST: 10 HP: 10 Speed: 6.00 can’t stray far from their home grove, but their natural abilities DX: 12 Will: 12 Move: 6 can provide extensive information within that area and sometimes IQ: 10 Per: 10 information passed on from without (trees are terrible gossips, HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: 0 hence all the whispering leaves). They have trouble staying focused on questioning, though, and may forget important details. Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 2 Charming Kiss (18 vs. Will): If the victim loses, he is mind controlled (per pp. B68-69) for one Dryad Tactics day per point the Contest is lost by. Must touch Dryads won’t attack directly. The vulnerabilities of dryads – bare skin or fur (doesn’t need to be on the lips). plant-affecting spells and fire – mean they need to be cagey. Druids Repeated attempts the same day, or within might be reluctant to deploy their plant spells against their groves, 24 hours of the charm running out, are at ‑1. but delvers rarely lack fire spells or other ways to start fires quickly. Suffers penalties per druidic spells (GURPS If forced to fight, the faerie try a guerrilla campaign of approaching Dungeon Fantasy 1: Adventurers, p. 19). scouts or stragglers and charming them. If that doesn’t work, dryads lure foes into killer plants, along the edge of unstable branches, or into mud or quicksand.

Kick (10): 1d-2 crushing. Reach C, 1. Punch (12): 1d-3 crushing. Reach C. Traits: Appearance (Very Beautiful); Absent-Mind- edness; Dependency (Her grove; Common; Daily); Green Thumb 4; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous); Intolerance (Despoilers of nature); Lecherousness (9); Mind Control (Druidic; Extended Duration; Melee Attack); Perfect Balance; Permeation (Meld; Wood and plants); Plant Empathy; Power Investi- ture 2 (Druidic); Sense of Duty (Nature); Shyness (Mild); Speak with Plants; Unhealing (Partial, heals when within her grove); Vulnerability (Fire ¥2); Weakness (Unnatural environments; 1d per 5 minutes). Skills: Area Knowledge (Her woods)-18; Herb Lore‑14; Stealth-12; Survival (Woodlands)-18. Spells: Bless Plants-12; Heal Plant-12; Identify Plant-12; Plant Vision-12; Pollen Cloud-12; Seek Plant-12. Class: Faerie. Notes: Willing to negotiate. Powers are natural in origin. Typical dryad groves have 10+3d trees; on average they have DR 13*, HP 37, HT 12, and Injury Tolerance (Homogenous). A dryad can meld with any of those trees.

The Monsters 9 Giant Ant Giant ants come in two main varieties – workers and Class: Giant Animal. soldiers – with about one soldier for every 20-50 workers. Notes: Will not negotiate, but workers are distractible with Soldiers and workers are both 5’ to 6’ in length and are 2’ to food. ST is 22 for grappling purposes thanks to Lifting ST 3’ high. They forage in mixed groups of soldiers and workers. and Wrestling. Stats above are for a worker; soldiers have Although workers aren’t true combatants, they will defend ST 12, HP 12, Bloodlust (6), Striking ST 6, Brawling-14, themselves or their nest. They’ll attack anything they perceive and bite for 1d+2 cutting damage (parried as a weapon). as food – delvers qualify! Soldiers have ST 24 for grappling purposes. Each nest has Ants have no use for valuables, and armor, possessions, one queen, with SM +3, HP 30, and Move 0; ants within and indigestible remains of their victims are scattered around sight of the queen gain the furious prefix (p. 23). If the their nest mouth or stacked in trash chambers inside the nest. queen is slain, the nest breaks down in confusion until a Rumors persist that ants collect shiny objects – especially new queen is created (generally in 1d+1 days). gold nuggets – and bring them back as offerings to their queen. ST: 10 HP: 10 Speed: 5.25 DX: 10 Will: 10 Move: 5 IQ: 1 Per: 10 HT: 11 FP: 11 SM: 0 Dodge: 8 Parry: N/A DR: 2 Mandibles (12): 1d-2 cutting. Reach C. Bite counts as a grapple on SM +1 or smaller victims; inflicts damage every turn as a free action on grappled targets. Traits: Cold-Blooded (50°F); Dull; Extra Legs (6 legs); Horizontal; Lifting Strength 10; No Fine Manipulators; Unfazeable; Wild Animal. Skills: Brawling-12; Wrestling-12.

they encounter, then immediately start to gorge them- Myrmecoleon and selves on fallen foes unless attacked by another enemy. Add Bad Temper (6); Compulsive Flesh-Eating (6); Glut- Variant Ants tony (6); Restricted Diet (Raw flesh); Striking ST 11; Ter- There are many variant ants – here are just a few. minally Ill (One Week!); and Brawling-15. Bite does 2d+1 cutting, Reach C. Acid Ants: Add a follow-up to their bite: Corrosion Zombie Ants: Not undead zombies, these ants have Attack 2 points. Add this attack mode: Acid Squirt (10): 1d been taken over by a mind-warping fungus. Reduce Will corrosion, Range 5, once every 5 seconds. Keep track of and Per to 8. Add Compulsive Attacking (Living Beings total damage as DR may corrode over the course of mul- Only) (6), Indomitable, and Infectious Attack. A minute tiple attacks. after being injured by zombie ants, the victim must roll Army Ants: Add Bad Temper (9) and use soldier stats 3d vs. HP of injury received. Failure inflicts ‑2 to DX, ‑2 for all ants. to IQ (affects Will and Per), ‑1 to Move, Cannot Learn, Fire Ants: Not actually flaming (for that, see flame Hidebound, Incurious (6), Indomitable, Infectious ants, below). These are venomous. Add a follow-up to Attack, Low Empathy, Compulsive Attacking (Living their bite: Toxic Attack 1d (Resisted by HT-2; Cyclic, 1 Beings Only) (6), No Sense of Humor, and Unfazeable day, 4 cycles; Symptoms, damage over 1/3 of HP causes until cured with Cure Disease. Severe Pain, p. B428). Flame Ants: Add a follow-up to their bite: Burning Attack 1d. Tend to leave a trail of scorched material Ant Tactics behind them. Eat ashes and carbon. Ants aren’t clever, but they do show teamwork. Work- Myrmecoleon: A lion-headed ant defined by its - con ers mob foes to bear them down, and hang on to keep tradictions and gluttony. Its lion head only craves living them from defending against the more lethal soldiers. flesh (not carrion or rations!), but its ant body can’t digest They never retreat or surrender, but they can sometimes meat. Soon after they are born (by means unknown), be driven off with smoke or confused with strange scents. they die of starvation. Until then, they attack anything Up to three ants can grapple one human-sized target.

The Monsters 10 Harpy Harpies are hybrid fiends with a bird-like body and a female human’s head. Most harpies are horrifyingly ugly, but some are startlingly beautiful (see Sirens). Sirens They’re cowardly and evil. They use their shrieks first, Not all harpies are ugly, fearsome, and raspy-throated. A and then try to pick off isolated victims unable to effec- few are astoundingly beautiful and have voices mortals would tively protect themselves. die to hear. These are sometimes called sirens, or siren-har- Harpies are skilled singers, but their voices are terri- pies by those who claim that still more lovely voiced creatures ble and fearsome. They hate bards – and assume anyone are out there, luring mortals to their doom. Despite their dif- who sings or carries a musical instrument (or some- ferent appearance, they are no less cruel or evil. thing too similar to one) is a bard. Change appearance from Hideous to Very Beautiful. Harpies are notorious food thieves. They steal food Replace Disturbing Voice with Voice. Replace Fearsome whenever possible, and their diseased claws befoul any Shriek with: food they can’t fly off with. Harpies don’t get along with anyone or anything Siren Song (15 vs. Will): Apply standard range modifiers to else, with the occasional exception of dire vultures the siren’s roll. Victory means the victim is under the effect (see GURPS Dungeon Fantasy Adventure 1: Mirror of Mind Control (p. B68-69) for one minute per point by of the Fire Demon, p. 46). which he lost the contest. Hearing-based – the siren doesn’t need to see the target, but deafness provides immunity. ST: 13 HP: 13 Speed: 6.50 DX: 13 Will: 12 Move: 3 (Ground)/13 (Air) IQ: 9 Per: 12 Harpy Tactics HT: 13 FP: 13 SM: +1 Harpies are cowards, but also bullies. They open with their Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 2 shriek attack, and fight with their talons if they catch someone alone and can badly outnumber him (by at least 3:1). In Decaying Touch: A harpy can rot food at a touch. Does those cases, they dive in and claw as they fly past. Resolve not affect living things. this as a Move and Attack; the harpies are ‑4 to hit, but they Fearsome Shriek: Anyone in hearing range must roll are expert at such attacks and don’t suffer a skill cap of 9. a Fright Check at -5. Distance mitigates the effect – They can retreat up while flying for +4 to Dodge, but not while consult the Size and Speed Range Table (p. B550) and doing a Move and Attack. add the bonus in the “Size” column to the victim’s Given the chance, they fly into a camp, steal some food Will; those who are deaf are immune and any Hear- and befoul the rest with their decaying touch, and then flee. ing penalty acts as a bonus to resist the Fright Check, If opposed, they shriek to try and scatter their foes. Their while Acute Hearing gives a penalty equal to its level. shrieks aren’t very effective on the same victim multiple times Successful resistance conveys immunity to that par- per day, and not at all if the victim resists. They know this and ticular harpy’s shriek for 24 hours; otherwise, succes- will come back day after day to harass delvers who stay too sive shrieks are resisted at a cumulative +1. close (within a few miles) to a harpy roost. Talons (15): 1d+2 cutting, plus the Harpy Shakes (see below). Reach C. Traits: Appearance (Hideous); Bully (9); Cowardice (12); Disturbing Voice; Flight (Winged); Odious Racial Habit (Destroy Food); Striking ST 3. Skills: Brawling-15; Singing-12; Wrestling-13. Class: Faerie. Notes: Unwilling to negotiate, but they can be distracted briefly with food (which they’ll destroy). Animal spells don’t work, because harpies are too smart (use Mind Control magic). Food rotted by a harpy cannot be purified or restored in any way – it’s a divine curse! Harpies are foul – anyone wounded must immediately make a HT roll to avoid infection with a disease (the Harpy Shakes: ‑2 ST, DX, and IQ, plus Disturbing Voice, for 1d days; roll each day to get rid of it). Rare magic-using harpies exist; these have IQ 12, Song Magery 2 (they’re quite loud while singing) and IQ+1d spell at IQ level, usually from the Mind Control and Communication and Empathy College. Their power origin is divine – they’re cursed by the gods, and their powers work anywhere.

The Monsters 11 Lava Lizard

Lava Lizard Tactics Lava lizards have simple tactics – they close, bite, and hold on. They will drag smaller or weaker foes around. Otherwise, they simply cling fiercely until slain or until their target has burned down to ‑10¥HP. Lava lizards are not actually lizards – they are bulky, black, lizard-shaped elemental beings ighting olten ock made of lava-like stone. They stretch 9’ from nose F M R to tail and span about 3’ at their widest. They can Lava lizards are tricky to fight – their burning aura and scorching be found naturally near lava vents, gates to the touch inflict damage on incoming weapons and those that hit it – 1d elemental planes, or with fire-using creatures burning is enough to incinerate most arrows before they impact, 3d such as fire elementals. They can be summoned burning can light clothing on fire with ease, and 10+ points of damage with a specialized variation of Summon Fire Ele- will set wooden weapons on fire (see Making Things Burn, p. B433). mental that only summons lava lizards. Occa- They have the obvious weakness against cold. Resist Fire negates sionally, they turn up by accident when wizards their most lethal offensive power and lets someone kill it without try to summon a more typical elemental. catching on fire – but the monsters are still fairly tough physical Lava lizards aren’t especially aggressive, but threats against weaker or low-ST foes. they are stubborn once provoked. They’ll bite, hold on, and wait for the target to burn into cin- all of the izard ders (which they consume). Horrifying tales are C L told of delvers with limbs missing who hacked Summoning and controlling lava lizards requires specialized off their own arm or leg to get free of a lava- spells. lizard bite. Summon Lava Lizard ST: 18 HP: 18 Speed: 5.50 DX: 10 Will: 10 Move: 5 Special IQ: 1 Per: 10 Allows the caster to summon a lava lizard if one is nearby – which HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: +1 generally requires a source of volcanic activity or magma, or signif- icant amounts of fire and stone. The lizard is not entirely under the Dodge: 8 Parry: N/A DR: 4 caster’s control, but it remains for one hour unless it is dismissed or Molten Maw (12): 1d+2 crushing plus heat slays the caster. Make a reaction roll to see how it reacts to the caster; aura. Reach C. on a “Good” or better reaction, it will follow simple orders from the Heat Aura: 1d burning damage/second to caster (e.g. “attack those delvers,” “protect this door,” or “follow me”), anything within one yard of the lava liz- though it is IQ 1 and can’t speak or understand complex speech. ard; physical contact does 3d burning This is an Earth spell and a Fire spell. damage/second! Duration: One hour. May not be maintained. Traits: Damage Resistance 40 (Heat/Fire); Cost: 4. Fearlessness 5; Immunity to Metabolic Haz- Time to cast: 30 seconds. The lava lizard takes up to 2d minutes ards; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous; No to appear. Blood); No Fine Manipulators; Quadruped; Prerequisites: Magery 1, four Earth spells, and four Fire spells. Stubbornness; Vulnerability (Cold/Ice ¥2); Weakness (Temperatures below freezing; 1d/ Control Lava Lizard minute); Wild Animal. Skills: Brawling-12; Wrestling-12. Regular; Resisted by higher of ST and Will Class: Elemental. Control all actions of a single lava lizard while the spell continues. Notes: Animal spells don’t work – use Control The caster must keep the lizard in view for direct control. Otherwise, Earth Elemental or Control Fire Elemental it follows the last command given . . . if the GM feels that’s possible instead at ‑5 unless the caster knows both with IQ 1! spells, as lava lizards are fieryand rocky. Bite This is an Earth spell and a Fire spell. counts as a grapple on opponents of SM 0 or Duration: 1 minute. smaller. Effective ST 20 when grappling due Cost: 4 to cast. 2 to maintain. to Wrestling skill. Not intelligent enough to Time to cast: 2 seconds. negotiate but can be distracted with burnable Prerequisite: Summon Lava Lizard. items. Heat aura is so hot that Resist Fire only works at the double cost level.

The Monsters 12 Living Pit Living pits are strange beings Effective ST 22 for grappling due to found only in dungeons. When Wrestling skill. Some living pits grow open, they resemble normal pits, internal spikes – change Open! damage three yards per side, though a to impaling. Victims inside a closed Per roll can spot (cosmetic) faint pit are in a dimension “outside” space. red eyes at the bottom if some- Larger pits exist; calculate their size by one specifically looks in. When finding their linear dimensions on the closed, they’re indistinguishable Size Modifier Table on p. B19, then add from the floor and effectively two for being cube-shaped. ST (and undetectable. They live on the HP) go up proportionally to size; mul- fringes of the ethereal world, tiply both by the number in the “Size” and can move through solid column on the Size and Speed/Range objects. They lurk in high-traf- Table (p. B550) for its linear dimension. fic hallways or block dead ends, Damage for its Open! attack depends sometimes staying closed until on its depth as a pit (Dungeons, p. 19). after several delvers have passed Slain pits become normal pits, occu- . . . Others take advantage of pying whatever space they did when their inability to digest metal to killed. This is why there are so many leave loot in their open maws 10’ pits in dungeons. and get adventurers to climb in. ST: 20 HP: 20 Speed: 6.25 DX: 10 Will: 9 Move: 6 (see Notes) Pit Fighting IQ: 9 Per: 12 Living pits generally move under a victim (using their full HT: 15 FP: 15 SM: +3 Move 6!) and open up to trap him; a victim needs at least Move Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 4 3 to attempt a dodge (see Falling into Monsters, below). On the next turn, they’ll slam closed (Shut!) to pin the victim and begin Open! 1d+2 crushing. Reach C (directly below the to inflict constriction damage (Squeeze!) and potentially suffoca- victim). Automatically hits. Victim may be able to tion. Delvers inside trying to break free roll against the pit’s effec- dodge – see Falling into Monsters, below; Acrobat- tive ST 32. If the victim enters the pit on his own turn, the pit can ics and Catfall reduce falling damage normally. skip Open! and go right to Shut! and Squeeze! Shut! If the pit starts its turn with a victim inside Victims inside are pinned and in close combat, and are it, it can shut. If the victim is capable of getting restricted to Actions After a Grapple (p. B370). Friends outside the out of a three-yard-deep pit (by jumping, flying, pit can attempt to kill the pit – which will flee with the victim etc.), he may attempt to defend by dodging and inside, moving one yard per second. Spells cast on the victim can retreating. Failure means the pit closes on the vic- work, but are at ‑5 for a subject that can’t be touched or seen, and tim, who is pinned if of lower SM than the pit, or an additional ‑10 because the victim is in a different dimension! partly stuck in the pit and grappled if of equal Touching the pit doesn’t count as touching the victim. or greater SM. The victim can break free by win- ning a Quick Contest of ST (allowed only every 10 seconds if pinned); the pit has +10 to ST if pin- Falling into Monsters ning or +5 if grappling. Living pits attack in an unusual way – they move under some- Squeeze! Every turn, roll a Quick Contest between one, open up, and let the person fall in. Burrowing beasts might the Pit’s effective ST 22 vs. the higher of the vic- try the same trick, especially if they’re wide-mouthed enough to tim’s ST or HT. Damage is equal to the pit’s mar- simply swallow victims. gin of victory. If the victim is pinned, no air can Monsters may attempt this if they can both move directly under enter a closed pit, and he will begin to suffocate the target creature and have a mouth or opening big enough to (p. B436) and lose 1 FP per second. grapple or engulf the quarry. Prey with sufficient Move to step Traits: Constriction Attack; Detect (Life; Precise); completely off of the monster’s mouth may attempt to dodge; DB Injury Tolerance (Homogenous; No Blood); that doesn’t affect attacks from below provides no benefit. If the Magic Resistance 5; No Manipulators; Silence 3; victim lacks sufficient Move, or fails to dodge, he falls into the Universal Digestion (Organic only). monster’s opening. What happens after that depends on the spe- Skills: Stealth-17 (20 when not moving); Wres- cific creature. tling-15. Levitating, flying, and otherwise three-dimensionally mobile Class: Elder Thing. victims only need to be able to stay above the striking range of the Notes: Generally unwilling to negotiate. Move 1 monster – any height at all versus a living pit, but might be much while holding a victim; a pit can “drop” a victim higher versus, say, a dreaded leaping ethereal dungeon shark. by spitting it out to the surface as a free action.

The Monsters 13 Manticore Manticores are ferocious predators with the face of a man, a mouth full of sharp teeth, the body of a lion, and a scorpion’s tail. They have dark blue eyes anticore actics and tawny to a bright red fur. Dark orange venom M T drips from their tail stinger. They are found only in Manticores are fearless but cunning. If possible, they use the most remote wilderness or deep underground. Stealth to sneak up on foes and close with them from behind. Manticores combine a near-human intelligence Once in close, they use their claws or bite, and their tail to with a malicious nature. Though they do not use tools, strike. Manticores like best to bite and hang on, and then use they are not “animals” and cannot be controlled by their claws and tail to finish off their victim. Once a single vic- animal-control spells. They are sapient, but despise all tim is down, a manticore moves on to the next one – they prefer other intelligent beings; they may cooperate if bribed to defeat all of their active foes and then chow down on the and/or threatened. They are occasionally found serv- remains later. ing mad evil wizards and evil clerics, but eventually Winged manticores (see below) favor a fly-by tail shower. chafe at external controls. They have unlimited ammunition, so they zap by at full speed and fire their tail spikes at a net skill 17 (18, +1 for RoF 6,‑ 2 for ST: 20 HP: 20 Speed: 6.25 Move and Attack) plus range penalties. They come within 10 DX: 13 Will: 11 Move: 6 yards to do full damage if possible, and close to melee if foes IQ: 8 Per: 12 possess more effective ranged attacks. HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: +1 Dodge: 10 Parry: N/A DR: 1 Bite (15): 2d cutting. Reach C. Talons (15): 2d cutting. Reach C, 1. Tail Sting (15): 2d+3 impaling + follow-up poison (HT to resist). Failure paralyzes the victim for a number of minutes equal to the margin of failure. Reach C, 1. Traits: Combat Reflexes; Extra Attack 1; Fearlessness 5; Intolerance (Other intelligent beings); Night Vision 5; Odious Racial Habit (Eats Other Sapi- ents); Penetrating Voice; Quadruped; Restricted Diet (Fresh Meat); Sadism (9); Selfish (9). Skills: Brawling-15; Stealth-13. Class: Hybrid. Notes: Animal spells don’t work, because the creature is too smart (use Mind Control magic). Willing to negotiate, but is hateful, craves flesh, and is quite egotistical. Venom can be extracted; 1d-3 doses (minimum 1) can be retrieved on a successful Poisons roll.

Manticore Variants The manticore discussed here is only one possibly Innate Attack (Projectile)-18. Replace Tail Sting with Tail kind; many variations exist. Darts (17): 1d+1 impaling, Range 10/100, Acc 3, RoF 6, Rcl 1. Dodge is 12 while flying! Some also deliver venom with Bestial Manticore: Some manticores are simply dumb, their tail darts – use the same stats as Tail Sting. hostile brutes. IQ becomes 5; Will becomes 10. Remove Wizard Manticore: As any other type, but with spells. Intolerance. Add Wild Animal to traits. Animal spells that Raise IQ to 13. Add Magery 1 and 10 IQ/Hard spells at affect hybrids will affect these versions. 13 or IQ/Very Hard spells at 12. Body Control spells (to Meteoric Manticore: Tail stinger is tipped with meteoric enhance its fighting abilities) and Protection and Warning iron! Stinger spike is worth $500. spells (usually including Missile Shield and Shield) are Winged Manticore: Possesses bat-like (sometimes hawk- especially common. like) wings, and can shoot a burst of tail darts at targets. It has a limitless supply of stingers; consider using Suppres- It is possible to combine the above, although bestial sion Fire (p. B409). Add Flight (Air Move 18; Winged) and wizard manticores aren’t very effective casters.

The Monsters 14 Medusa A medusa appears as human female from the neck down – resistance! Cone, 15 yards terminal width, 100 yards max- but her face is hideous, with red eyes and a mass of venomous imum range. Cured by Stone to Flesh or Remove Curse. snakes for hair. Any living thing that looks at a medusa’s face Snaky Hair (18) (×4): 2 points impaling + follow-up 1d toxic directly turns to stone – treat this as identical to Flesh to Stone (HT-1, plus -1 per additional bite, to resist; 5 cycles; 1 min- (Magic, p. 51). The only way to prevent this is to avoid her ute per cycle. Reach C. Often aimed at a foe’s face (-5) or gaze or look at her face in a mirror – see Fighting with Eyes neck (-5), if either is unarmored. Averted, below. These monsters aren’t immune Traits: Appearance (Hideous); Bad to their own gaze, although they are immune to Temper (12); Extra Attack 4 (Snaky that of other medusas. Hair only); Immunity to Poi- Medusas can’t petrify snakes (professional son; See Invisible; Social Stigma courtesy?), and are often found with them. (Monster). They sometimes keep blind creatures as pets, or Skills: Brawling-14, Stealth-12. ally with beings immune to their gaze because Class: Mundane. of their nature – elementals, mostly. Eyes of Notes: Power comes from a divine Death (Monsters 1, p. 14) fear medusas, for curse. Intelligent and willing to obvious reasons. negotiate. A medusa’s petrifying ST: 11 HP: 11 Speed: 6.25 power depends on her face, not DX: 12 Will: 12 Move: 6 her eyes – blinding one won’t help! IQ: 12 Per: 12 Medusa venom can be drained, HT: 13 FP: 13 SM: 0 netting 2d-4 doses. A medusa’s head maintains its petrifying power for Dodge: 9 Parry: 9 DR: 0 1d hours after the medusa is slain; Claws (14): 1d-1 cutting. Reach C. sawing it off without looking at it Petrifying Visage: Beings of living flesh (not takes a DX roll, 1d¥5 minutes, and elementals, golems, undead, and the like) a cutting weapon. Alchemists will who view a medusa’s face directly turn to pay $1,000 each for medusa heads, stone permanently – there’s no defense or even after their powers have faded.

Wait till My Sisters Get Here Just like in myth, not all medusas are the same. Here Scout: Upgrade of archer to Bow-18 and Compos- are several variations. ite Bow (18): 1d+4 impaling or 1d+4(2) piercing, Acc 3, Range 300/375. Add Heroic Archer, Striking ST 2, and Archer: Add Bow-16 and Composite Bow (16): 1d+2 Strongbow. impaling or 1d+2(2) piercing, Acc 3, Range 220/750. Wizard: Raise IQ to 14. Add Magery 3 and 2d+6 Immortal: Add Unkillable 1 (Dies only at ‑10¥HP; IQ/Hard spells at 15 or IQ/Very Hard spells at 14. Popu- Achilles’ Heel, Decapitation). If the medusa is struck by lar colleges are Light and Darkness, Illusion and Creation, a cutting attack to the neck that would normally trigger a and Mind Control. HT roll to avoid death, she must roll, with failure meaning Vermiform: A medusa that is a giant snake from the permanent death. waist down! SM becomes +1. ST becomes 15 (which raises Persistent: Victims petrified cannot be cured until the damage and range for archers and scouts). Raise HP to 20. medusa is slain. Even then, the curse resists Stone to Add No Legs (Slithers). Always either an archer or a scout. Flesh and Remove Curse with an effective skill 15.

Fighting with Eyes Averted Fighting while looking into a mirror gives -5 to attack on anything but the legs or feet of any foe, including the and -2 to defend against any opponent someone cannot medusa, are considered Wild Swings (pp. B388-389). All also see directly – which obviously includes the medusa! defenses against anything but enemy kicks are at ‑2, as for Since facing the medusa squarely while looking into a Attack from Above (p. B402). mirror is difficult or impossible, there usually are- pen Fighting with eyes shut is the safest, at least from the alties for attack and defense from the side or rear; see gaze attack. Treat this as fighting blind (p. B394): ‑10 pp. B388-391. Keeping the medusa’s face out of view to attack and ‑4 to defend if the person is aware of the while fighting by focusing on her feet works, too. Treat enemy attack at all. combatants who do this as if they were crouching. Attacks Blind Fighting is ideal for battling medusas!

The Monsters 15 Octopus Blossom Octopus blossoms are deadly carnivorous plants. They consist of a number of green tentacle-like tendrils cov- ered on one side with sucker-like cups, radiating around a mouth-like opening lined with red crushing grinders. Despite the name, they don’t always have eight vines – roll 1d+3 to find out how many they have; the stats below are for an “average” seven-armed specimen. They grapple with their arms, pulling their victims into close combat, and then grinding up prey with their mouth. Octopus blossoms are semi-mobile. They put down roots for water – they can live for a long time on just water and sunlight. However, they can pull up their roots and move to seek a new place to lurk and catch food. They often are found near game trails, watering holes, suppos- edly “safe” campsites frequented by delvers, and other similar locations. Octopus blossoms are neither intelligent nor malign, but that’s small comfort to the delvers they’ve eaten. They seem to have originated as guardians grown by a lost sect of demon-worshipping wizards and druids Killer Plant Variants in the jungles of the far south, but they’ve since spread far and wide. There are many kinds of octopus blossom. They are often found in mixed groups of a number of different varieties. ST: 12 HP: 30 (Bulb) Speed: 1.00 DX: 11 Will: 0 Move: 1 (see Notes) Caustic Blossom: Grinding maw damage becomes corro- IQ: 0 Per: 12 sion. Add DR 8 (Limited, Corrosion). HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: ‑1 Crusher Blossom: Remove grinding maw and add Constric- tion Attack (+2 to ST for every tentacle after the second). Kills Dodge: N/A Parry: N/A DR: 1 by squeezing its foes to death and then sucks out the juices! Grinding Maw (11): 1d+1 crushing. Can only bite a Eros Blossom: Touch causes ecstasy (p. B428) if the vic - grappled victim, but a hit lets the plant worry (roll tim fails a HT roll. Effect lasts for minutes equal to margin maw damage every turn as a free action). Reach C. of failure. Tentacle Grab (11): Roll the plant’s effective ST vs. the Mage-Eater Blossom: As above, but add Mana Damper higher of the victim’s ST or HT; victory inflicts crush- 2 (Melee Attack). Anything it touches is treated as being in ing damage equal to the margin. For every tentacle mana two levels below the surrounding area. This doesn’t after the first two, +2 to hit and ST; a seven-armed interfere with spells cast on the blossom, but it does affect blossom grapples at skill 21 and holds with ST 22. spells cast on or by anyone touching it! Reach C-2. Sea Blossom: Aquatic. Swims at Move 1. Venom Blossom: Grinding maw damage becomes small Traits: Blindness; Chameleon 2; DR 4 (Limited, Crush- piercing with a follow-up attack: roll vs. HT to avoid 1d ing); Extra Attack 1; Injury Tolerance (Homogenous; toxic damage. Independent Body Parts); Long Arms; Plant (p. 23); Striking ST 5 (Bite only); Vibration Sense; Weakness (Wither Plant does 3d/casting). “Octo” Means Class: Plant. Notes: Plant spells affect them normally. Not intelligent “Grapple” enough to negotiate. Tentacles take 5 HP in a single Octopus blossoms are ambushers. They wait until victims blow to dismember; injuries to the tentacles do not are close, then grab them and take them. Octopus blossoms affect the plant itself. Severed tentacles continue to attack by grappling their prey with all of their tentacles. They grapple with ST 12 until destroyed (10 HP total) or then drag victims in and “bite” them to death. This can be until 1d minutes have passed, at which point they slow and, against heavily armored opponents, futile. Octopus “die.” The plant must spend one minute pulling up blossoms will hold on until they are slain or their victim is its roots to move around. It takes about one minute eaten. Friends of the prey are free to attack it, but might hit to plant its roots in normal soil or to grab cracks in their friend (see Striking Into a Close Combat, p. B392). dungeon floors. If it grapples while not rooted down, victims stronger than it can simply walk around, carrying it (about 100 lbs.) as encumbrance!

The Monsters 16 Phase Serpent The phase serpent is an “ordinary” giant snake that briefly turns insubstantial to avoid attacks or bypass obstacles. They can do this repeatedly, but at increasing difficulty. Phase serpents are deadly predators, and they use their phase ability Phase Critters to its utmost to attack from behind, escape foes, and dodge Experimenting mad wizards (and their GM) don’t attacks. They aren’t naturally aggressive toward human-sized need to be limited to snakes. Just about anything can be targets, preferring to eat vermin and other much easier prey. a phase critter. Add this prefix to the base creature. But they are dangerous if provoked or surprised. Phase: Creatures with this prefix can defensively Phase serpents were born of an odd magical experiment by phase and teleport past obstacles; see Phase Abilities, a medusa wizard seeking to perfect teleportation (Power-Ups, below. Add Insubstantiality (Magical). p. 37) by first applying it to giant snakes. She was executed by the Watchers at the Edge of Time (see Monsters 1, p. 34), but Don’t feel limited to animals, although they are the her snaky test subjects escaped and multiplied. Rumors say most common. Be careful with sapient foes, however. her experiment notes still exist, and other wizards have tried Intelligent creatures with the phase prefix are more than their own experiments – see Phase Critters. just foes with a trick defense – they’re totally new mon- Because of their ability, they can be found in unlikely loca- sters with greatly enhanced capabilities. Unless the GM tions – locked rooms, inside security perimeters, and so on. wants to inflict a Total Party Kill, keep the number of They generally nest in places that can’t be accessed easily (or phase orc assassins to a relatively low number. Such at all) without phase abilities! sapient phase creatures are generally hunted down by the Watchers at the End of Time, who leave unintelligent phase animals alone.

Phase Abilities Phase serpents have one very special trick – they can phase to avoid attacks or bypass barriers (and foes). They have two techniques, both tied to this phase ability. The phase trait depends on magic and will not work in a no-mana zone. Phase Dodge: They can phase defensively on a 20 or less; success means they dodge the attack automatically. Repeated attempts in one turn are at a cumulative -5. They may also attempt to dodge immediately before doing this, in effect giving them two chances to avoid any incoming attack!! Phase: They can phase for up to 10 seconds at a cost of 1 FP as a free action, allowing them to move through ST: 10 HP: 10 Speed: 7.00 doors, walls, foes, etc. with relatively impunity. They DX: 14 Will: 10 Move: 7 can end this phase at will, also as a free action. IQ: 2 Per: 12 HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: 0 Phase Serpent Tactics Dodge: 10 Parry: N/A DR: 2 Due to their abilities, phase serpents are effective Bite (16): 1d impaling + follow-up 2d toxic (HT‑4 to resist; 1d predators – and they turn up in the most unlikely places. if resisted; 6 cycles; 1 minute per cycle). Reach C. They use their teleportation to attack from behind, escape foes, and defend against attacks. However, Traits: High Pain Threshold; Infravision; Insubstantiality against well-armed delvers, in a straight-up fight, they’re (Magical; see Phase Abilities, below); Striking ST 3; Vermi- basically fodder with a neat trick. They generally avoid form; Wild Animal. direct confrontation unless cornered (which is hard to Skills: Brawling‑16; Stealth‑14. do). In combat, they use their phase ability to flank a foe Class: Dire Animal. (giving ‑2 to the target’s defenses) or get behind an oppo- Notes: Phase serpents are too stupid to negotiate – to control nent (no defenses the first time; treat as flank attack on them, use Animal spells instead. Phase serpent brains are subsequent strikes), bite, and then phase to leave. They useful in certain potions and are worth $100 each. Phase may return if pursued, if their territory is breached, or if serpent eggs are worth $1,000 apiece intact, but are usu- their eggs are threatened. ally stashed in a location difficult (or impossible) to access without teleportation.

The Monsters 17 Phoenix In myth, the phoenix is a singular beast, graceful and generally peaceful, which is reborn from its own ashes if killed. These phoenix (the plural and singular are the same) are graceful yet hostile, far from unique, and totally aware of their own immortality and willing to use it offensively. Phoenix attack aggressively, using pecks and wing buf- fets in close or against airborne foes. If this fails, they use their slam attack to ram into foes at high speed (they fly at 60 mph!), accepting their likely death from the impact in order to inflict damage through their explosive death throes. In minutes, they return anew from the ashes to do a beautiful victory dance over the scorched corpses of their foes. Phoenix fear nothing, even water, although they maintain a healthy respect for it and avoid it where possible. Water is generally the only way to kill them permanently – but even this varies (see Killing the Immortal, below).

ther lements O E ST: 5 HP: 5 Speed: 6.25 The legendary phoenix is a bird of flame. In Dungeon Fantasy, DX: 13 Will: 18 Move: 30 (Air) there is no reason to restrict yourself to one element. Here are some IQ: 5 Per: 12 variations: HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: ‑2 Acid Phoenix: Change burning damage to corrosion. Reduce damage Dodge: 10 Parry: N/A DR: 0 aura to 1d. Remove Temperature Tolerance. Change DR to (Limited, Corrosion) and add Sealed (Acid-Resistant); the latter negates the other Beak (15): 1d-3 piercing, plus burning aura. effects of corrosion damage (like reduced DR and potential blinding). Reach C. Death Phoenix: A messenger of a death god. Change class to Undead. Burning Aura: 2d burning to anything in close Change burning damage to toxic (Cosmic, Irresistible attack). Remove combat with it. Vulnerability. Weakness is to Healing spells (1 point of healing does 1 Dying Blast: 3d crushing explosion plus linked point of injury to the death phoenix). Achilles’ Heel becomes Healing 2d burning explosion on dying. spells. Affected by True Faith and Pentagram. Slam (15): 1d+2 crushing plus burning aura. Frost Phoenix: Add No Incendiary Effect to burning attacks. Change Wing Buffet (15): 1d-4 crushing plus burning DR to (Limited, Cold/Ice), change Temperature Tolerance to (‑135°F aura. Reach C. to 40°F). Achilles’ Heel becomes Essential Fire. Replace Weakness and Traits: Combat Reflexes; Damage Resistance Vulnerability with Vulnerability (Heat/Fire ¥3). 40 (Limited, Heat/Fire); Fearlessness 10; Lightning Phoenix: Add No Incendiary Effect and Surge to burn- Magic Resistance 5; Telescopic Vision 2; ing attacks. Change DR to (Limited, Electricity), but otherwise Temperature Tolerance 10 (80°F to 255°F); unchanged – water shorts them out! Unkillable 3 (Achilles’ Heel; see Killing the Immortal, above); Vulnerability (Crushing Killing the Immortal ¥3); Vulnerability (Water Spells ¥2); Weak- ness (Water; 1d/second). Traditionally, a phoenix cannot be killed forever. In Dungeon Skills: Aerobatics-15; Brawling-15. Fantasy however, where there is a will to kill there is a way to kill. The Class: Elemental. GM decides which of the following is effective. Notes: Unaffected by Animal spells because Essential Water: If the final damage done to kill a Phoenix is from they are free-willed elementals; use Control Essential Water, the Phoenix will not return. Doesn’t work poured on Fire Elemental instead. Essential Water tri- the ashes – the attacker must kill the phoenix with it. ples damage from its Weakness. Phoenix Any Water Spell: As above, but any water spell. Use for an easier- eggs are worth $1,000 each, but are frag- to-kill phoenix. ile (DR 1, HP 3, ¥3 damage from crushing Any Water: As above, but as long as the damage is from water attacks) and inflict 1d-4 burning damage (immersion works), the phoenix will die. per second. If the egg is smashed before it hatches, the phoenix is slain. This causes No matter which of these works, it still triggers a dying blast! an explosion doing 1d+3 crushing plus 2d burning follow-up.

The Monsters 18 Rock Troll A human-sized brute of dark gray rock, with glittering glossy eyes of milky glass and teeth of white gemstone. They are called trolls, but they aren’t Rock Troll Tactics related to either of the fleshy kinds. Rock trolls are born of living rock; they spawn from rock shaped Rock trolls can be tough for swashbuckler-and-scout heavy once too often with magic or from critical failures parties due to their Amorphous Stone meta-trait (p. 22), DR 8, with Earth magic. and dearth of special weak points. Their tactics are simple – they Rock trolls don’t eat, but enjoy using their pow- close in, clubbing with their fists until they are close enough to erful jaws to grind gemstones, crystals, and (espe- bite instead. Rock trolls aren’t clever, but they’re smart enough cially) tempered glass (GURPS Dungeon Fantasy 8: to work together and gang up on foes. Their Unfazeable nature Treasure Tables, p. 33) into powder. Rock trolls can means they generally fight until destroyed. communicate by gesture, and they occasionally nego- Their main weakness is magic. They are smart enough to be tiate for gemstones to consume. They never offer fur- vulnerable to Mind Control magic but their Will is fodder-level. ther explanation of their desires, and sometimes do They also have an obvious weakness to Earth magic. Ham- inscrutable things. Although they aren’t very smart, mer-toting dwarves and club-carrying barbarians won’t have a they do understand the value that fleshy things ascribe hard time battering them to pieces, either. to their preferred snack. Generally, they simply attack those they believe to be holding glass or gems. Malicious Rocks ST: 17 HP: 17 Speed: 6.50 Rock trolls aren’t evil, but they aren’t friendly either. Their DX: 12 Will: 10 Move: 6 natural allies are other rocky beings, such as lava lizards (p. 12) IQ: 8 Per: 10 or rock mites (Monsters 1, p. 25). They can also be competitors HT: 14 FP: 14 SM: 0 and enemies of the same, if the GM wants a rock versus rock battle for underworld supremacy. They make excellent patsies Dodge: 9 Parry: 10 (¥2) DR: 8 for evil Earth wizards, too. However, they can potentially be allies. If magically controlled or given enough bribes of gemstones and glass, they might work with a group of delvers for a time.

Clubbing Fists (15): 1d+3 crushing. Parried as a weapon. Reach C, 1. Gemstone Maw (15): 1d+3(2) cutting. Parried as a weapon. Reach C. Traits: Amorphous Stone (p. 22); Compulsive Eat- ing (Glass and gemstones) (12); Doesn’t Breathe; Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Fragile (Brittle); Immu- nity to Metabolic Hazards; Injury Tolerance (No Blood); Mute; No Fine Manipulators; Pressure Support 3; Regeneration (Fast, 1 HP/minute; Only in contact with stone or earth); Regrowth (Only in contact with stone or earth); Sealed; Weakness (Shape Stone or Earth to Air inflicts 3d/casting); Unfazeable. Skills: Brawling-15; Gesture-12. Class: Elemental. Notes: The alien mind of rock trolls can’t be con- tacted, read, or otherwise interacted with via Communication and Empathy spells. Willing to negotiate. Affected by Control Earth Elemental. DR is universal – their eyes, etc. are also DR 8. Teeth and eye fragments are worth $1d¥100 per rock troll. Rock giants spawn from large-area Earth magic, and are SM +2, have ST 40, HP 40, IQ 9, Will 11, Per 11, DR 12, and Brawling-18. Rock giant fists do 4d+8 crushing and their bite does 4d+8(2) cutting.

The Monsters 19 Rot Worm Rot worms are your normal, garden-variety giant killer meat-eating worms, except they’ve fed just a little too much on undead organic matter. The result is a rot worm. They attack with their toothless sucker mouths (which drip a flesh-eating yellowish ooze), and with their horrid breath. Their breath isn’t an attack; it’s a continuous stink of fumes and rotting particles that spew out of their mouths at all times. The consumption of undead flesh has also given rot worms a hunger for rotting flesh and the ability to sense corporeal undead. The living aren’t safe, though – while rot worms seem to prefer rotting undead matter, they’ll eat living flesh if it’s more convenient. Equally, consuming undead flesh has given the rot worms some of the vulnerabilities of their favorite food. Furthermore, but many worms get strangely warped by their chosen food. The stats below are for a standard worm, but distorted ones are very common.

Not Your Garden Variety ST: 15 HP: 15 Speed: 6.00 Thanks to their strange diet, rot worms are especially prone DX: 10 Will: 10 Move: 6 to mutation. About 1 in 6 have the distorted prefix (Monsters 1, IQ: 1 Per: 8 p. 37). A further 1 in 6 are hydra rot worms, with 1d+1 (average HT: 14 FP: 14 SM: +1 5) heads; add 3 HP per additional head and Extra Attack 1 for each. About 1 in 36 are both. Giant rot worms are even bigger, with Dodge: 9 Parry: N/A DR: 1 SM +3 (ST 35; HP 35; breath has three-yard diameter; saliva does Rot Breath (Resisted by HT-2): Smell-based 1d+3 corrosion damage) and SM +5 (ST 75; HP 75; breath has breath attack in a 1-yard diameter cloud in front five-yard diameter; saliva does 2d+2 corrosion damage) varieties of the worm. Subjects who don’t resist are nau- being uncommon but not terribly rare. Legends of truly massive seated (‑2 to attribute and skill rolls, ‑1 to active worms (SM +10 or bigger) are not to be trusted, as no delver has defenses, and possible vomiting; see p. B428) for ever returned to verify them. minutes equal to margin of failure. On a failure by 5+, the victim is also retching (‑5 to DX, IQ, orm actics and Per, and automatic failure at Concentrate W T maneuvers) for 1d seconds. No Sense of Smell/ Rot worms are barely intelligent. Their tactics are simply to Taste provides immunity. close with victims, clamp on with their toothless sucker mouths, Sucker Bite (10): Grapple with ST 15 + follow-up and start eating the flesh that dissolves from their corrosive saliva. 1d corrosion/second. Reach C. Lingers for 2d Their breath gives them an edge – victims can be rendered helpless seconds after final contact with the worm’s just from coming too close. mouth unless washed off with wine or vinegar Rot worms are most threatening in groups, or in tight quarters, (water won’t do). where delvers can’t avoid their breath or effectively move away from their bite. In the open, they’re generally fodder. Traits: Acute Detect 7 (Sense roll 15); Bad Smell; Detect (Rotting Flesh; Precise); Immunity to Disease; Immunity to Mind Control; Injury Worm Wrangling Tolerance (No Eyes; No Head; No Vitals); Not only do rot worms make dangerous foes, but they also can Regeneration (Slow, 1 HP/12 hours); Regrowth; be made into useful allies. They eat undead by preference and can Universal Digestion (Organic only, but not be used to hunt (and eat!) the rotting undead. They strip flesh off bone); Vermiform; Wild Animal. corpses entirely, making them an effective, if slow, way of cleaning Class: Dire Animal. bones – possibly as preparation for making skeletal undead, which Notes: Animal spells won’t work because of its the worms will simply ignore. semi-undead immunities. Unable to negotiate, Such “rot wormingers” need Animal Handling (Rot Worm), and but eats corpses in preference to fighting for usually carry a forked, hooked prod ($10, 3 lbs., Reach 1, thr-1(0.5) living flesh. Digests all but bone. Affected by crushing) that they use to direct the worms. Successful wormingers Turn Zombie (takes half damage, rounded typically have No Sense of Smell/Taste or a very high HT score. down; flees on a 1 as usual) and by True Faith (turned as if it had Will 15).

The Monsters 20 Shadow Warrior Occasionally, the Animate Shadow spell (Magic, p. 154) ST: 14 HP: 14 Speed: 8.00 can go horribly wrong. Either through a critical failure by the DX: 14 Will: 15 Move: 8 (Ground)/ caster, or perhaps a too-successful critical success, the ani- IQ: 9 Per: 10 4 (Climbing) mate shadow of the subject manages to kill its victim and sur- HT: 12 FP: 12 SM: 0 vive permanently, independent and willful. Dodge: 12 Parry: N/A DR: 0 Shadow warriors cannot last for more than a few seconds in sunlight. As such, they either live underground or stick to well- “Weapon” (18): 1d fatigue damage per strike; ignores all DR. shaded areas, waiting for nightfall. They roam around, trying Cannot be parried or blocked. Reach C, 1. to regain their “lost” physical forms by re-enacting the circumstances that created them – murdering a living being. They Traits: Bloodlust (9); Callous; Combat Reflexes; appear to carry various weap- Delusion (Killing will end my curse); Jeal- ons and sometimes shields, ousy; Shadow Being (see Other Shadows? but their “weapons” all do below). the same damage and their Skills: Brawling-18; Stealth-17 (20 if not mov- armor is nonfunctional. They ing). are found singly or in groups, Class: Undead. but cooperate poorly – each is Notes: Truly evil. Unwilling to negotiate. Pow- worried the other will kill the ers are magical in nature. The stats above victim they need to “undo” are for a typical animated shadow, created their curse! from a human warrior. For nonhumans, Rumors of special varia- adjust the stats and SM by the racial modi- tions of Animate Shadow that fiers, as usual, and add any racial abilities. create these on purpose are, Where the shadow has superior powers, of course, totally correct – but keep them! Exceptional specimens exist – are exclusively found in the stats and skills can be at almost any level. hands of cackling insane wiz- Not affected by True Faith, but do count as ards and certain demon-wor- undead for a holy warrior’s Higher Purpose! shipping evil clerics.

Two-Dimensional Foes Shadow warriors are potentially deadly. Their attacks one (thanks to Unnatural), but unless the fatal strike is bypass DR, and once FP hit 0, victims lose HP as well from light or Dispel Magic, they will dissolve into motes as FP; see p. B426. They can either attack twice (Rapid of shadow, then return in under 30 minutes (healing 1 HP/ Strike, ‑6 to hit, for a net skill 12) or once, usually using minute), thanks to Unkillable 3 in its meta-trait. Deceptive Attack (‑6 to hit, ‑3 to opponent’s defense, for a Shadow warriors are highly mobile – full Move on the net skill 12). They are clever enough to Feint if they feel a ground, half that on walls and ceilings. Unlike most beings foe is vulnerable to it. in shadow form, they can travel through three-dimen- Killing shadow warriors is tough. Physical attacks sional space – meaning they can move around normally, cause half damage, and it takes specific (albeit obvious) as well as slip through places only a two-dimensional spells to finish them off – and damaging light spells do being can. +50% damage. It only takes 28 points of injury to “kill”

Other Shadows? The stats above are for shadow warriors, based on a Temperature Tolerance 10; Unkillable 3 (Achilles’ Heel, human fighter-type. But any delver or creature could be Dispel Magic, light spells*, or sunlight); Weakness (Dispel victim of this kind of curse. Apply the following meta-trait. Magic does 3d/casting); Weakness (Light Jet does 1d/hit); Weakness (Sunlight; 3d/second). Replace all melee attacks Shadow Being: A usually evil two-dimensional shadow with a FP-draining strike that does damage equal to thrust version of the base creature. Add Dark Vision; Dependency based on ST. (Mana; Constant); Detect (Life; Vague); Doesn’t Breathe; As a feature, shadow beings are immune to “Body of” Doesn’t Eat or Drink; Doesn’t Sleep; Fragile (Unnatu- spells, Flesh to Stone, and similar transmutations, but are ral); Injury Tolerance (No Blood; No Eyes; No Head; No destroyed instantly if they fail to resist Remove Shadow. Neck; No Vitals); Pressure Support 3; Regeneration (Fast, 1 HP/minute; only in shadow); Shadow Form; Silence 3; * Light Jet or Sunbolt.

The Monsters 21 Chapter Two Monster Traits

Smell the blood of human invaders Feast on their limbs, bury their helms – Slough Feg, “Troll Pack” The monsters in the previous chapter use two meta-traits not found in the Basic Set. They also feature three new prefixes that expand on pp. 36-38 of Monsters 1. These traits are not restricted to the monsters in this sup- plement (or in some cases, to monsters only!). New Monster Traits The enhancement below is an important part of the dryad “spread thin” if you merge with a large object: scale down (p. 19) but may fit other foes that rely on Permeation. The two damage in proportion to HP (to 1/10 normal, in the above new meta-traits can be applied to any creature that they suit. example), and add the difference between the object’s SM and your own to rolls to resist your Afflictions. You can’t control the items you meld with; get Possession for that. Nostrils flaring at the sweet scent of horse and human meat, it clacked New Meta-Traits its teeth in hungry anticipation. These meta-traits follow the usual rules for meta-traits from the Basic Set. – Steven Erikson, Goats of Glory Amorphous Stone 40 points Some stone-based creatures are especially vulnerable to New Enhancement crushing attacks (which shatter their bodies) rather than cut- The following enhancement may be added to Permeation ting attacks (as usual for homogenous). This suits objects that (p. B75). are susceptible to crumbling but not to shearing. Amorphous Stone: Injury Tolerance (Damage Reduction Meld 1.5; Limited, Cutting, ‑40%) [15]; Injury Tolerance (Homog- +150% enous) [40]; Vulnerability (Crushing ¥1.5) [‑15]. Notes: As Homogenous, except that cutting damage gets a wounding You can become one with the things you permeate. This modifier of ¥1 while crushing has a wounding modifier of ¥1.5. works only on discrete objects – a tree (not a forest), a moun- tain (not a planet), etc. Once melded, you can use your senses Things with this meta-trait often have Fragile (Brittle) from or step out of the object at any point along its interior [‑15] as well, but this is not required. Some also have Injury or exterior surfaces, and can breathe if any part of it is touch- Tolerance (No Blood) [5], while others don’t and ooze tarry ing air. Take a Ready maneuver to shift viewpoints or exit the blood or other strange ichors when hurt. The amorphous object. If the object takes damage, it affects you proportionally; stone meta-trait is especially useful for crystalline and stone e.g., 10 HP of injury to a 100 HP tree results in a 1 HP wound creatures vulnerable to crushing blows; the GM may wish to for a 10 HP person. Being part of something larger than you retroactively apply it to suitable monsters from earlier supple- also blunts Afflictions – add the difference between its SM and ment, such as stone golems (Dungeons, p. 26) or obsidian jag- yours to your resistance roll. If you have attacks that affect uars (Monsters 1, p. 24). Or he may not – not every construct those touching or standing near you, like Emanations, they’re is designed the same way!

Monster Traits 22 Plant No Neck) [62]; Mute [‑25]; Regrowth [40]; and the feature Affected by Plant spells. 27 points Plant creatures share a common pool of traits. This meta- Plants usually have No Legs (Sessile) [‑50], but some fan- trait suits plant-based monsters that lack sight, hearing, or the tastic plants are frighteningly mobile. Other common plant ability to speak. Plant-people, plant-animals, and mobile plant- traits include No Manipulators [‑50], Doesn’t Eat or Drink things that can speak are better off without this meta-trait. (Requires Sunlight and Water, ‑50%) [5], and, for dry plants, Fragile (Combustible) [‑5]. Most trees and other plants also Plant: Blindness [‑50]; Deafness [‑20]; Doesn’t Breathe [20]; have IQ 0 and Fixed IQ [0], but this trait is not included here, Injury Tolerance (Homogenous, No Blood, No Eyes, No Head, since it may not fit certain trees in fantasy. More Monster Prefixes The following prefixes add to the list fromMonsters 1. Use and unarmed attacks) and +1d with swinging attacks. The them on any creature to make them more dangerous. GM may recalculate damage in detail or just wing it and add +2 or +1d, respectively! Flying Flying creatures are winged versions of their normally Holy land-bound or aquatic relatives. Aquatic creatures given wings Most monsters are exactly that – monsters, hostile to delv- mysteriously acquire the ability to breathe air, too. This prefix ers and civilization alike. But some Good gods create servitors is very common on cats (housecats, lions, trigers . . .), lizards in the form of monsters, or transform them into divinely pow- (ersatz “dragons”), and formerly aquatic animals, such as ered servants. They are more intelligent, more refined, and sharks. Especially sharks. (most importantly) more good than the basic creature. This Creatures that already “look” winged, such as manta rays, prefix is most commonly found on animals (which are usu- or which look too ridiculous with wings (such as jellies or ally white, gold, or luminescent), but any sufficiently non-evil oozes) drop “winged” from flight . . . but they can still fly. creature can have it. Especially holy beings may have multiple levels of Higher Purpose (up to four!), add levels of Holiness, Statistics: Add Flight (Cannot Hover; Winged). Air Move is and may have additional holy powers. See GURPS Dungeon Basic Speed ¥2; any land Move is unchanged from the base Fantasy 7: Clerics for inspiration and useful lenses. They creature. Those that look winged should remove (Winged). aren’t clerics or holy warriors themselves, though, but make Water creatures exchange No Legs (Aquatic) for No Legs great allies for them. (Aerial) and improve Doesn’t Breathe (Gills) from a feature to a full-fledged advantage. Statistics: Add Higher Purpose (Slay Demons); Higher Purpose (Slay Undead); Pacifism (Cannot Harm Innocents); Furious Sense of Duty (Co-religionists), and Shtick (Foes slain person- ally can’t rise as undead). Remove any “evil” disadvantages, A furious monster is very angry and channels that into notably Bully, Megalomania, and Sadism; Appetite involv- striking much harder. ing the blood, life force, etc. of others; and Dread, Revulsion, Statistics: Add Bad Temper (9) and Striking ST 4*. Susceptible, Vulnerability, or Weakness toward good or holy things (which might be replaced with equivalent flaws con- * Four levels of Striking ST generally give +2 to dam- cerning evil things). age with thrusting attacks (including nearly all natural

Xykon: “Flying zombies! I can’t believe I never thought of it before.” Redcloak: “It will revolutionize the industry.” – The Order of the Stick #193

Monster Traits 23 Index

Acid, ants, 10; phoenix, 18. Fire ants, 10. Holy prefix, 23. Replacing characters, 8. Amorphous Stone meta-trait, Flame ants, 10. Hybrids, 14. Rock trolls, 19. 22. Flying prefix, 23. Hydra rot worm, 20. Rot wormingers, 20. Animals, dire, 5, 6, 17, 20; giant, Frost phoenix, 18. Lava lizards, 12. Rot worms, 20; giant, 20. 10. Furious prefix, 23. Lightning phoenix, 18. Sea blossoms, 16. Ants, giant, 10. GURPS, 4; Basic Set, 22; Living pits, 13. Serpents, phase, 17. Army ants, 10. Dungeon Fantasy, 3, Lizards, lava, 12. Shadow Being meta-trait, 21. Basilisks, 5. 18; Dungeon Fantasy 1: Mage-eater blossoms, 16. Shadow warriors, 21. Bestial manticores, 14. Adventurers, 9; Dungeon Manticores, 14. Sirens, 11. Caustic blossoms, 16. Fantasy 2: Dungeons, 3, 4, Medusas, 15; variants, 15. Spells, new, 12. Characters, replacing, 8; see also 8, 13, 22; Dungeon Fantasy Meld enhancement, 22. Summon Lava Lizard spell, 12. Monsters. 7: Clerics, 23; Dungeon Meta-traits, new, 21-23. Treasure, tips, 4. Cockatrices, 6. Fantasy 8: Treasure Tables, Meteoric manticores, 14. Trolls, rock, 19. Control Lava Lizard spell, 12. 19; Dungeon Fantasy Monsters, classes, 4; new Undead, 21. Crusher blossoms, 16. 11: Power-Ups, 8, 17; general traits, 22-23; reading Unkillable advantage, suggested, Death phoenix, 18. Dungeon Fantasy 14: Psi, stats, 4; trait notes, 4. 5. Dire animals, 5, 6, 10, 17, 20. 7; Dungeon Fantasy 15: Morph advantage, 8. Venom blossoms, 16. Doppelgangers, 7-8; detecting, Henchmen, 8; Dungeon Mundane, monsters classed Vermiform medusas, 15. 7. Fantasy 16: Wilderness as, 15. Vulnerability disadvantage, Dryads, 9. Adventures, 4; Dungeon Myrmecoleon, 10. suggested, 5. Elder Things, 13. Fantasy Adventure 1: Octopus blossoms, 16. Weakness disadvantage, Elementals, 12, 18, 19. Mirror of the Fire Demon, Phase, abilities, 17; prefix, 17. suggested, 5. Enhancement, new, 22. 11; Dungeon Fantasy Phase serpents, 17. Winged manticores, 14. Eros blossoms, 16. Monsters 1, 5, 8, 15, 17, Phoenix, 18. Wizard manticores, 14. Faeries, 7-9, 11. 19, 20, 22, 23; Dungeon Pits, living, 13. Wormingers, 20. Falling, into monsters, 13. Fantasy Monsters 2: Icky Plant meta-trait, 23. Worms, rot, 20. Fighting, with eyes averted, 15. Goo, 4, 7; Magic, 5, 15, 21. Plants, monsters classed as, 16. Zombie ants, 10. Harpies, 11. Prefixes, new, 17, 23.

STUCK FOR AN ADVENTURE? NO PROBLEM. Warehouse 23 sells high-quality game adventures and supplements in print and PDF formats. l Free downloadable adventures for GURPS and In Nomine! l Fun gaming accessories – shot glasses, shirts, specialty six-siders, and more! l PDFs from Atlas Games, Amarillo Design Bureau, Pelgrane Press, Goodman Games, and many others – plus gems from the up-and-comers. l Original material for Transhuman Space and new GURPS supplements from Kenneth Hite, Phil Masters, David Pulver, Sean Punch, and William Stoddard! l Fully searchable files of GURPS Fourth Edition supplements. l Buy board games and roleplaying PDFs in the same order! Download digital purchases again whenever you need to. ® STEVE JACKSON GAMES warehouse23.com Index 24